New-look Scottish rinks eye European curling medals – watch live on BBC
Scotland’s men’s and women’s curling teams are targeting European Championship medals in Ostrava, despite both line-ups having changed substantially since last year’s event. Grant Hardie and Fay Henderson have moved into skip roles, leading new teams that qualified by winning the Scottish Championships.
Hardie’s team, formerly led by Ross Whyte, is ranked in the world’s top five and is aiming to win the title; Hardie joined it after leaving Team Mouat following nine years together. Henderson has silver and bronze European medals from her time as an alternate, but has never played a match at the competition and hopes to complete her medal set. Only three of the ten Scottish curlers who won silver and bronze last year return, and selected games will be shown live on BBC platforms.
In short
- Scotland sends substantially changed teams to the European Curling Championship.
- Grant Hardie’s top-five rink is targeting the title.
- Fay Henderson hopes to win her first European medal as a player.
Explained simply
Curling is played on ice, with teams sliding stones towards a target and using brushes to influence how they travel. At the European Championships, national teams compete for medals; Scotland’s representatives are chosen through the Scottish Championships.
Grant Hardie and Fay Henderson are the new skips, the players who lead their teams and make key tactical decisions. Hardie’s team includes players from the line-up previously led by Ross Whyte, while Henderson has earned European medals as an alternate, a reserve who can join the team, but has not yet played in the competition.
The Scottish teams won silver and bronze last year, but only three of those ten curlers are returning. Their results in Ostrava will show how the reshaped line-ups fare against Europe’s leading teams.